Another long journey today that involved moving from Caye Caulker to Flores, so it was boat and bus. That boat ticket was fairly simple – I showed up at the Belize Water Taxi stand, paid up, and boarded the water taxi (btw, if you buy it on the spot, it is cheaper by a little bit).

After arriving at the water taxi station in Belize City, I went to get a bus ticket. Central America really isn’t my territory; or perhaps I should do more research in the future. Seeing the sign “Fixed Price”, I stupidly didn’t negotiation, and paid the full price of about 13 USD for a ticket to Flores, Guatemala. I later learned that the price is actually negotiable.

With some time left, I just ventured out of the bus/water taxi station for a bit. Seems like those little shacks are typical of small businesses in Belize. Belize City seemed a little … scary. In the shops around town, it seems that the standard practice was to have a metal grille to separate the owner from the customers. Not a very comforting sight. Also spotted an Orioles fan! Saw even more Chinese, and made productive use of the rest of my time by writing and sending out postcards, given that the post office was just across the street. (the only batch of postcards from the Central America trip that arrived in their intended destination so far)

The journey to Flores, Guatemala was pretty uneventful. Along the way, I noticed even more grocery shops and supermarts that were run by Chinese. Seems like the Chinese have a monopoly of this! Also, I spotted a couple of Mormons cycling along the road. If someone gave me a quarter for every Mormon I spotted, I would have enough quarters for quite a few cycles of laundry!

Journey through the border was fairly easy-peasy, though it involved some costs. There is a departure tax of sorts for those leaving Belize, which was less than 10 USD, I think. After crossing the border, there was another surcharge of less than 5 USD for the Guatemala immigration.

Flores seems to be quite charming. It is on a lake, and the houses are of different rich colours like red and yellow. Very pleasing to the eyes!

I stayed at Hotel Casazul, which was highly rated on Tripadvisor. It was nice and big, and probably more appropriate for like 3 people than just me. But I would also suggest checking out its neighbors – they are cheaper, and have swimming pools. It was about 40 USD for a single.